OKRA MASALA /BHINDI MASALA

Okra Masala is a perfect dish for a vegetarian meal with rice or flat bread.  This lightly spiced Okra Masala is great on its own.

If you never cooked Indian food before, this is a nice recipe to start with.  It comes together quickly, leave room for slight adaptations and taste absolutely delicious.

Spices are always a matter of individual taste.  Start with the ones in this recipe and adapt to suit yourselves especially the chili powder.

If you are lucky to find this versatile vegetable fresh, make sure to select the smallest and firmest pods.  If okra pod gets too long, it often becomes hard to eat.

MOIST BANANA CAKE

Moist Banana cake may be perfect with a cup of morning coffee but for a delicious weekday dessert too.   This Banana Cake is moist and flavorful with the sweetness of mashed banana..

I usually bake this cake in loaf pan but decided this time to  use 7 in round cake pan. This cake is simple to make, it comes together  in a short time.

Store bough banana cake is readily available in bakery shop or supermarket but it was way too sweet and lacks real banana flavors..

Let gives this recipe a try, may be you would like it as much as we did.

APPLE OATMEAL BARS

I  immensely wanted to eat nutritious bars that was not so sweet yet tasty.  The blend of  rolled oat and apple  makes this  Apple Oatmeal Bars  a perfect treat..

It was super easy and pretty quick to prepare.  Apple Oatmeal Bars are excellent for on the go breakfast or quick snack anytime of the day. Had used palm sugar (gula Melaka) to make these bars and it smells wonderful while baking.

Packed full of vitamin C, apple provides all sorts  of great health benefits. The phytonutrients in apples can help you regulate your blood sugar, for fighting off a cold and  to giving you smooth skin so there is even more reason to eat them up.  Whole apples are richer in dietary fiber so they are better nutritional choice than apple juice.

They are great alternative to granola bars minus the extra sugar.  Kids love them and they are almost like a cake

This recipe makes one pan so share the goodness with your friends or pack them in your lunches all week.

BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

I have baked  plenty of banana cakes but like to try this  cake with caramel topping.  This Banana Upside Down Cake brings banana cake to a whole new level..

Banana Upside  Down Cake has 2 parts consisting the cake and its topping.  You know that a bunch of banana that has been hanging out in your pantry?  We found the perfect use for it. This recipe allows you to clear up those blackened banana, 2 for cake and 3 for the topping.  Have cut the banana lengthwise for topping but you can also slice  it into rounds.

Am using a loaf pan but you could also use an 8 in round pan and arrange the banana the way you like it.

In case you ever wondered, what  could be better than bananas, well here it is, Banana Upside Down Cake. Meet your new  fave way to enjoy the fruit

APAM NASI (STEAMED RICE CAKE)

After a long time, I cooked any traditional treats or kuih (bite size dessert or snack)  for my family. This Apam Nasi was my late mum's favorite.  She used to prepare it when she had leftover rice for our  breakfast. My mum mix the flour just before going to bed and first thing in the morning, steamed these Apam Nasi.

What I noticed, most of our traditional kuih were mostly steamed since at that time an oven was not available even baking was  done using charcoal.

Added only half a cup of sugar but if you want it sweeter use 3/4 cup instead.  Used  red food coloring and the balance as it is but this is entirely up to you.  If you don't have that small plastic molds, use 7 in round pan and steam it for 30-40 minutes.

We enjoyed our Apam Nasi without coconut.   Halve the recipe if you have a small family, my recipe below yield 25 apam.